The best (and worst) of 2010/2011

Well, the football season is coming to a close. Unless you follow the MLS or the Airtricity League, of course. Let’s look at some of the best and worst of the past nine months.

1. The return of the King: OK, Roy Hodgson was never the right choice for the Liverpool job, in my opinion. Liverpool had won only one league game between the start of the season and the end of October. They were within eye-shot of the relegation places. Oh dear. Goodbye Hodgson. Hello…who? Mourinho? Rijkaard? Hiddink? No no…a club legend that hasn’t managed a club since 2000: Kenny Dalglish. The result? Great football, great league results and a respectable league finish in the higher half of the table. Long live the King.

2. Pep’s Barça kills José’s Real: Last November as blogged, I missed the opportunity to watch Cast play a reformation gig in Liverpool’s o2 Academy in order to watch el clásico in a bar across the street. The result was a match that will go down in history for a long time. Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-0 at the Camp Nou. To Madridistas this was unthinkable given they have The Special One as coach. To culés (Barça fans) this was a result that will be talked about for decades to come. I love Cast, but I’m glad I missed them to witness this.

3. Ibra’s kung-fu celebration: When most players win Serie A, they celebrate…sing, cheer, dance. Not Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He’s tried to roundhouse kick team-mate Antonio Cassano.[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/6GOy3ScY_Kw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
4. A city united with trophies: For years at Old Trafford, Manchester United fans flew a flag showing the amount of years Man City had gone without winning a trophy, updating it every year. Not any more. The same day United had won the Premier League was the same day City won the FA Cup. I’d say the bars around central Manchester had a busy one.

6. The return of Dortmund: Bayern Munich have long been the dominating team in the Bundesliga. This season they were ten whole points behind winners Borussia Dortmund. Jurgen Klopp’s men have had a remarkable season winning every game except for their five losses and six draws. And they won it well playing fantastic football. So much so that Dortmund had the 2nd highest average attendance in world football this season, just behind Barcelona.